Digital Design Lab
The Digital Design Lab at L’École de design Nantes Atlantique focuses on the notions of UX Design and digital innovation.
The Lab creates hybrid devices for 4 types of design:
- Design of connected objects: physical spaces, furniture, connected objects or environments;
- Interactive design: immersive & augmented environments, augmented realities, mixed realities, natural gestural interfaces, Artificial Intelligence, robotics;
- Digital design inspired by life: biomimicry, complex living systems, the intelligence of other systems, interspecies approaches;
- Artificial intelligence design: machine learning and predictive machine learning models, chatbots, computer vision, neural networks & deep learning.
"
The Digital Design Lab explores immersive and tangible smart user experiences, powered by predictive artificial intelligence models and inspired by complex living systems.
"
The Digital Design Lab approach
Technology is evolving rapidly. Today, a multitude of digital devices are appearing on the market, promising new user experiences that are increasingly engaging and effective. The digital designer of tomorrow will need to thoughtfully design smart, connected objects and systems that are less polluting, adaptable, and tailored to users’ needs.
In this changing context, the Digital Design Lab aims to:
- Produce new digital devices to serve Research and Industrial Development. The specificity of our Master's course in Digital Design consists in combining user experience (UX design) and digital. The idea: to formalize tangible and immersive human experiences thanks to complex artificial and/or living intelligent systems.
- Develop UX Design Production Methods. The Digital Design Lab develops UX design methods that incorporate UX Machine Learning (MLUX) and Artificial Intelligence. The designer learns to clarify the user's needs/impacts, depending on the nature of the interface or software used.
- Feed a UX design and digital innovation platform mixing research, pedagogy and industrial partnerships. Partnerships with industrialists allow us to develop innovative teaching methods to serve the project, as students are made aware very early on of the issues raised by our collaborators.
Students can join in the Digital Design master's program at the Lab to explore these topics during the final two years of their degree.
The Digital Design Lab’s activities
The Digital Design Lab is a platform for research, training and innovation in the field of UX Design and digital innovation. Learn more about the Research - Training - Innovation approach.
The Digital Design Lab's research areas
The research themes of the Digital Design Lab address 4 areas:
- How does user experience (UX) research translate into tangible experiences with connected objects, systems or environments?
- How does UX research build on immersive experiences in virtual, mixed or augmented reality?
- How does the natural intelligence of living systems combine with Artificial Intelligence to enhance user experiences?
- How can designers incorporate UX design methods into the design of predictive models and other forms of artificial intelligence?
Discover all the Digital Design Lab conferences and publications
CIFRE theses (Industrial agreements for training through research)
The Digital Design Lab hosts doctoral students under CIFRE agreements, in partnership with academic laboratories and partner organizations committed to addressing the challenges of responsible digital technology. These dissertations are part of applied research at the intersection of design, the humanities, and digital technologies, with a particular focus on the societal and environmental impact of intelligent systems.
The Digital Design Lab has supported two CIFRE doctoral theses on the topic of artificial intelligence, its design, and its acceptability in the workplace. One is co-supervised with LS2N/Nantes University for the company SIGMA, and the other is co-supervised with MICA Bordeaux for the company Thales.
Are you a company or organization interested in exploring a research topic in responsible digital design? The Digital Design Lab is open to new CIFRE partnerships. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your project.
Other topics are well-suited for doctoral research, such as:
- the design and acceptability of algorithmic approaches to artificial intelligence, or immersive virtual reality devices
- the use of digital devices by and for vulnerable populations
- the social and environmental responsibility of digital companies through regenerative, frugal, circular, sovereign, sustainable, or eco-responsible approaches
The methodology
The Digital Design Lab's methodology is based on pragmatic design-led research, interdisciplinary teams and a project-based approach with a systemic vision. This scientific research methodology aims to reconcile the production of both scientific knowledge and knowledge derived from the field. The Digital Design Lab advocates a practice-based, action research approach to technology to tackle complex problems.
It means bringing electronic and programming logic to the wealth of knowledge and skills developed by the designer. This includes:
- electronic hardware prototyping for IoT;
- connected objects and environments;
- programming for immersive environments (Unity) and Machine Learning design (Python).
The Mareva Project Combats Sargassum in Guadeloupe
The Mareva project, winner of the "Special Lab" award presented by the Fondation Jacques Rougerie - will be presented during the UNFOLD exhibition organized by the Domus Academy as part of Milan...
Gallia, an immersive training app at Air France
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique is exploring the applications of immersive design in aviation training programs with Air France. During a sprint conducted in partnership with Air France’s VR Lab...
SEDNA
Imagine the future of the oceans through design 5 students in the Master's program in Digital Design represented L’École de design Nantes Atlantique during the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference...
Startups/End of Studies Projects funded by social innovation competitions
Lucie Leroy won first prize in the contest “Filme Ton Job 2026” organized by the Association des Apprentis de France (ANAF). In this video, she shares her day-to-day life as a designer on an apprenticeship contract at ADEO. From her education to her experience in the workplace, she reveals the many facets of the design profession, including creativity, innovation, collaboration, and understanding user needs.
The "Booko" project designed by Océane Delaunay was selected from among more than 500 projects for the UX Design Awards in 2026. This project is reinventing book sharing in urban areas through a network of connected kiosks and a mobile app that allows users to locate, borrow, and return books with just a few taps. This network of connected public book-sharing kiosks improves access to reading in urban areas.
Jingwen Deng, master's student in Digital Design won an award at the FIT Sport Design Awards, which recognizes the best innovations in sports. With Maya Nasralla, master's student in Care Design, they designed a wooden stroller that converts into a tricycle to help children become more independent. Trotti won an award in the Sport Equipment Design / Sustainability category.
Five students from the Digital Design Lab were awarded the 2024 Grand Prize for “Architecture and Innovation for the Sea” by the Fondation Jacques Rougerie - Academy of Fine Arts for the SEDNA project qIt promotes the use of marine resources and offers sustainable, self-sufficient solutions. This project won a €10,000 grant to highlight visionary projects that address the major environmental challenges of our time. Congratulations to Juliette Amisse, Constance Fromentin, Maé Litou, Marine Tacquet and Etienne Tijou!
Projects presented at numerous exhibitions
Experimental projects in biomimicry and inclusive design, such as TerrA LigériA and Océans enable students to develop innovative solutions to complex problems such as digital and musical accessibility or environmental responsibility. Their success is evidenced by repeated invitations to numerous events such as Nantes Digital Week, Utopiales, Nuit Blanche des chercheurs, Laval Virtual, fête de la Science etc.
Startups/End of Studies Projects funded by social innovation competitions
The Heya project by Elise Croguennoc offers a simple solution for fostering connections in shared living spaces. It enables residents to create more opportunities to see one another and to foster a friendlier atmosphere and better communication within housing complexes. The service consists of connected devices installed in common areas and in each private residence. Elise has participated in numerous support programs such as Makesense and the GRDF foundation, Moovjee, Pépite Pays de la Loire, Atlanpole etc.
Quentin Le Pape (Alumni 2015), co-founder of Comand AI, a French startup founded in 2023 that specializes in AI for defense, developing command and control (C2) solutions to optimize the planning and analysis of military operations.
Amina Essilimani (alumni 2010) launched this UX design consultancy dedicated to the design of chatbots, text and vocal interfaces in 2018 for clients like the SNCF. Her MLUX approach has been incorporated into the Digital Design Lab’s curriculum.
The duo Nicolas Cloarec (alumni 2010) and Heidi Ghernati (alumni 2009) created this dataviz dashboard solution alongside the launch of their interaction design consultancy Bakasable.
Ophélie Le Bras (alumni 2015) started this B2B while honing her experience at AXA Research and Qwant; she is now CEO and product design lead of the startup, a complete solution provider for French wine merchants and fine grocery stores.
Jérémy Barré et Félix Lepoutre (alumni 2014) co-founded The Design Crew, the first training program dedicated to product design in France, to capitalize on their previous collective experiences in France and the Silicon Valley at Lydia, YouTube, Facebook, Drivy, etc.
Nicolas Guyon et Frantz Lasorne (alumni 2009) started their AR/VR studio in Hong Kong in 2010 and have gained a huge industry recognition since then, working with a number of major companies worldwide like Lego, BMW, Infiniti, Stratasys…
Become a partner of the Digital Design Lab
Do you work for a company, association or local authority? Want to improve the quality of your projects and their user experience? Do you have a specific problem or a complex field to explore?
The Digital Design Lab offers you different types of collaborative projects:
- collaborative workshops;
- assessment missions;
- research contracts;
- hosting doctoral designers.
The services provided are eligible for the Research Tax Credit.
Tell us about your project and we will get back to you promptly.
Contact us at projet@lecolededesign.com
The Partners of the Digital Design Lab
Companies
Institutions and NGOs
The Digital Design Lab Team
Dr. Frédérique Krupa
Designer-researcher, Director of the Digital Design Lab
f.krupa@lecolededesign.com
Dr. Frédérique Krupa is a UX/UI designer and research methodology specialist with over 25 years of experience working for start-ups, notably at Virtools/Dassault Systemes and Simple Is Beautiful. In parallel to her design career, she has been a professor at prestigious design schools such as Parsons School of Design, RISD, University of the Arts, ENSAD and Paris College of Art, where she founded and chaired the Masters (MA) and Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Transdisciplinary New Media. She completed her Doctorate in Design with her dissertation Girl games: gender, design and technology in the service of women’s recruitment in ICT? at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, followed by a postdoc in peer-to-peer ICT pedagogy at the faculty-free and highly competitive computer science school 42, specializing in machine learning algorithms and AI ethics. Her current research focuses on establishing AI UX methods, a holistic, transdisciplinary and systemic approach to create unbiased machine learning data, algorithms and predictive models.
Arnaud Le Roi
Designer, Course leader of the Digital Design Lab
a.leroi@lecolededesign.com
A designer trained at the European School of Art of Brittany (EESAB), with a degree in DNAP (National Diploma in Plastic Arts) and a Master’s degree in Design, a National Diploma in Plastic Expression (DNSEP), Arnaud Le Roi has developed a plural approach to the profession of designer in the fields of contemporary creation, the various professional networks of digital and institutional production or distribution. He has been working professionally in the game and animation film sectors since the early 2000s as Game Designer/Lead Artist: Banja by the Team Chman, Lille, 1999-2001, Golden Nica "Net Vision", first price at Ars Electronica- AEC, Game design price NHK Japan - OniriaPictures, Luxembourg, Thierry Schiel and Sophia Kolokouri, audiovisual production and feature films: "Tristanet Isolde", "Renart The Fox, Bob Beach". Manager of a design agency, he also participates in the follow-up of various advertising projects for Havas Worldwide, Euro RSCG (Umbro, Savelis, Bonduelle, France Inter...). 3D teacher at the design school since 2001, he joined the Design Lab in 2013. Course Leader of the Master’s degree, he is the referent designer of the Immersive UX and Virtual Realities program until 2018. During these years, he developed pedagogical engineering skills in the field of creativity and innovation and supervised numerous projects with industrial partners of the Design Lab. Orange, Airbus, PSA group, SNCF, e-cobot, and collaborates on various research projects: IDEA (Immersive Data Exploration and Analysis) in partnership with Polytech (LS2N) - AmbiDys (dyslexia and automatic language processing) in partnership with LINA/ TaL.
Valentin Dupas
Digital Design Lab Developer
After studying in the Master’s program in Web, Multimedia and Networks at the University of South Brittany, Valentin Dupas joined the Lab in 2019. His interests span all types of design, from system architecture to the techno-social evolution of society. His aim is to support pedagogical and student projects, particularly in terms of electronic production (arduino/processing), software development for virtual and augmented reality, rapid prototyping (3D printing, laser cutting, CNC, etc.) and machine learning.
Soizic Boeffard
Educational assistant, Digital Design Lab
Some Alumni stories
- Gabriel Martzloff - Product Design Prototyper at Meta Reality Labs
- Morgane Sanglier - Senior Visual Designer at Google
- Mélie Ling - Innovation Lab Manager at RATP Group
- Mikael Queric - Sr Group Design manager at Adobe 3D&i
-
Marie Guillaud-Blaise - Lead Designer Experience at Renault Group